Elden Ring Nightreign: Raider Class Hands-On - IGN First Impressions

One of the standout features of *Elden Ring* has always been its flexibility in accommodating a wide variety of playstyles. For players who enjoy powering up their Strength, grabbing the biggest weapon available, and dominating enemies with heavy-hitting moves like posture-breaking jumps and charged heavy attacks, *Nightreign* introduces a class tailor-made for that experience—the Raider.

While the Guardian is another Strength-focused class known for its tankiness and defensive capabilities—starting with a shield and a powerful party-wide damage-mitigation ultimate—the Raider takes a completely different approach. This class is built from the ground up to be an aggressive, all-out offensive juggernaut.

The core ability of the Raider is Retaliate, which at first glance may appear underwhelming—a simple two-stomp combo dealing moderate physical and poise damage. However, the true strength of this skill lies in the Raider’s passive trait: the inability to be knocked down while performing Retaliate. This makes it a highly effective way to absorb incoming attacks without interruption. What really sets it apart is that if you manage to soak a high-damage attack during the Retaliate animation, the second stomp transforms into a devastating punch capable of staggering even the largest foes.

Complementing this aggressive style is the Raider’s ultimate ability, Totem Stela. When activated, the Raider slams the ground, summoning a towering totem that deals massive AoE damage. More than just a flashy finisher, this ultimate also serves a tactical purpose—ally-friendly characters can climb the totem for a safe vantage point or to avoid enemy attacks. Additionally, it grants a team-wide damage boost, making it a key ability to coordinate with teammates during intense boss fights or large-scale encounters.

Among all the classes available in *Nightreign*, the Raider stood out as the most thrilling to play. It starts off with the Raider’s Greavtaxe, a solid fire-infused weapon that also carries the “Endure” skill—an additional method for absorbing enemy attacks when Retaliate is on cooldown. While serviceable early on, upgrading to a more powerful, high-tier Strength-scaling weapon is highly recommended as combat becomes increasingly demanding later in the game.

What truly sets the Raider apart is its suitability for one-on-one duels. This theme is further reinforced through its unique Remembrances (which we’ll explore in greater detail soon), where players face off against bosses in arena-style confrontations—an exciting twist that breaks up the standard dungeon-crawling pace of the game.

That concludes our hands-on look at *Nightreign*’s classes. Stay tuned throughout the month for deeper dives into the game’s mechanics, exclusive developer interviews, and more as part of IGN First.